Chapter 280: Hit someone with the ball
call—-

In the blink of an eye, dawn came. The morning breeze brought spring rain and swept across the green mountains. The accumulated water on the treetops and leaves swayed slightly with the wind, and fell with a rustling sound.

There were crowds of people around the hundred-meter-high arena on Mount Qingcheng. Some of the wanderers were tapping branches or leaning against tree trunks with their arms folded. Their postures were casual yet full of expectation. Many of them were wearing uniforms, and people from the same sect stood in an open area, chatting and laughing with each other.

“Marquis Weiming has said since the beginning of the year that he wants to come and compete with Dao Kui. Now the time has finally come…”

“Oh, it’s better to have a month’s interval, otherwise we won’t be able to make it in time.”

“I wonder if Wei Ming Hou can defeat the martial arts master by leaps and bounds as the rumors say…”

“Even Tang Weiyu was defeated by Dao Kui… Well, we will know the details after the fight.”

“It won’t cause any harm, right?”

“For those who have reached the level of martial arts of Wei Ming Hou and Dao Kui, it is difficult to hold back unless their strength is extremely high. Moreover… Dao Kui and Yang She Yin grew up together and have a deep relationship. It can be said that they are missing now because of Zhao Wumian…”

“It’s a bit far-fetched. After all, Yangshe Yin was captured by Meng Po. The real hatred between these two people is that Dao Kui’s eldest disciple Yangshe Chao was killed by Zhao Wumian himself, and… ahem, I heard that Dao Kui’s son went to the capital and disappeared. It’s not necessarily true to say that it has nothing to do with Zhao Wumian.”

“Hiss… Didn’t Wei Minghou walk into a trap?”

“That’s not…”

“If Yangshe Congyun were to kill him with one blow, the imperial court would…”

“Marquis Weiming himself said he was going to challenge Dao Kui. If he was beaten to death, it would be a joke. If the imperial court wanted revenge for this… although no one could stop him, it would only prove that the imperial court was also a clown. It would not be worth it.”

There were too many martial artists coming here to watch, and most of the Qingliantian disciples had to step forward to maintain order. Some of the older Qingliantian disciples took the time to glance at the figure sitting cross-legged on the stage, and their expressions were filled with a hint of reminiscence.

This hundred-meter-high arena was built at great expense by Yangshe Congyun when he founded Qingliantian. It was originally intended as a training ground for disciples of the sect. Later, as Yangshe Congyun’s fame in the martial arts world grew, more and more martial artists came to challenge him, and gradually this martial arts arena became a special arena for fighting.

But after so many years, Yangshe Congyun has never lost on this stage. Even Tang Weiyu, who was the most popular person at that time, could not last more than ten moves at his hands. And when Zhao Wumian defeated Tang Weiyu, no one could see the details after all… Alas, I just hope that the leader can hold back and not cause any deaths, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to the court.

Amidst the chaos surrounding him, Yangshe Congyun sat alone cross-legged in the center of the ring, with a ring-handled sword placed across his knees and his eyes closed to rest. On the weapon rack at the edge of the ring, there were broadswords, straight swords, horizontal swords, and Mo swords… Yangshe Congyun’s self-created swordsmanship, the Shu Dao Nan, combined with various swords and weapons, and he could be said to be proficient in all kinds of swords.

In terms of strength, he can’t beat either Mo Jingxue or Xiao Yuanmu, but in terms of swordsmanship, only Yangshe Congyun stands at the top of the mountain.

And Yangshe Congyun is not a stupid and rough guy who can only practice sword. He cooperates with Fan family because, on the one hand, when Madam Yangshe was poisoned, Fan family lent a helping hand. On the other hand, he is indeed tempted by the efficacy of Wuhonghua… Doesn’t he want Qingliantian to become the number one sect in the martial arts world?

Of course he did. This was something he and Yangshe Yin had been working towards since they joined the ‘Little Knife Gang’ when they were young.

Not only Wu Honghua, he also wanted to get the Inverse Gold Boshan Furnace, so that Qing Liantian could also own a Nine Bells. That’s why he assisted Huanzhen Pavilion to go to the capital to jailbreak and rescue Song Yun in order to get clues about the Inverse Gold Boshan Furnace.

Cooperating with the Fan family to cultivate the Wuhonghua, and cooperating with the Huanzhen Pavilion to conspire for the Jiuzhong, Yangshe Congyun is also trying his best to develop Qingliantian. He does not think that he feels sorry for anyone. The only person he feels guilty about is the late emperor who appreciated him and awarded him the plaque of Wu Kui.

Thanks to the plaque of Wu Kui, Qing Liantian was able to become one of the three sects and six schools, with thousands of disciples and a booming development… But the plaque of Wu Kui is ultimately just an empty title.

If you have a big fist, great power, and have Jiuzhong and Wuhonghua by your side, does it matter whether you have this plaque or not?

When the sect has become powerful enough to become the number one in the martial arts world, will it still care about the annual privileges and the martial arts forces that come to join it?

I feel guilty towards the late emperor, so I will send my most senior disciple to assist Huanzhen Pavilion, which will also be a way of announcing to the world… I don’t want this plaque anymore, I will return what the late emperor gave me to you.

But Zhao Wumian stood in front of him…

As he was pondering, the noisy sounds in his ears suddenly stopped. There were tens of thousands of people standing around him, but at this moment, you could hear a pin drop, and only the sound of light rain remained.

Yangshe Congyun thought it was Zhao Wumian who came, so he looked up calmly, but was stunned for a moment.

On the stone steps of the mountain path in front of the arena, a royal flag with the word “Shu” on it appeared first, with black characters on a green background.

Tap tap tap————

The sound of slightly dull footsteps mixed with the sound of rain reached my ears, and then a team of soldiers wearing black armor with swords and spears on their waists climbed up the stairs with expressionless faces. As they walked, the friction of their armor made slight sounds. At a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.

Both Yangshe Congyun and the other martial artists seemed a little surprised.

“The King of Shu’s private army…”

“The King of Shu is here too?”

The Shu King’s army came to the front of the arena without saying a word, then suddenly stopped, the barrels of their spears hitting the ground with a light “dong” sound, and then silently moved to the sides.

They were indeed the private army of the King of Shu, but since someone with a higher status than the King of Shu came here, the King of Shu would definitely send elite soldiers to protect him.

Ding Ding————

A luxurious sedan chair slowly emerged from the army formation, covered with red curtains on all sides. As the sedan chair moved, the jewels decorated on the curtains swayed gently, and from time to time collided with each other, making crisp sounds.

On the sedan chair, a beautiful and elegant woman in a red and gold phoenix skirt was leaning on a cushion. Her bare hands with gold nail covers were slightly bent, and her face was supported by the back of her hands. Her posture was a little lazy, but it further highlighted her noble aura that shocked the capital.

Only when one’s status is so high that no one dares to make any comments about her can she behave so casually without pretending to be proper… This kind of arrogance and casualness of a superior cannot be acted out without years of experience.

Through the translucent red curtain, one can vaguely see the beautiful woman’s bright red lips, indifferent expression, and the lotus mark dotted with gold sand on her forehead.

Although the facial details could not be seen clearly due to the red curtain, no one would doubt the visitor’s peerless appearance at this moment. No matter who it was, they could tell the person’s identity at a glance.

The Queen Mother of the current dynasty… The Queen Mother actually came to Qing Liantian too! ?

Even Yangshe Congyun had not expected this, and his expression was a little incredulous… Although Yangshe Congyun was stripped of the martial arts champion plaque, the emperor had said bluntly that whoever could win the battle would be awarded the title of martial arts champion. Therefore, this kind of martial arts competition involving the title of martial arts champion must be endorsed by someone from the court.

It is understandable that the King of Shu came here, but the capital is two thousand miles away from Shu, and the journey is long and tiring. If the queen mother came to endorse it, then… that can only prove that Zhao Wumian’s status in the court is probably beyond the imagination of all the people present.

Mu Li’er, Su Qingqi and other women dressed up as masters of the palace and stood on both sides of the sedan chair. No matter how good their relationship was in private, the empress dowager was the most honorable person in public at this moment and she must not be offended.

Even though Yangshe Congyun was almost at the top of the martial arts world, he had only seen the emperor a few times after wandering around the martial arts world for his entire life. The only time someone of the empress dowager’s status had seen the emperor was when she entered the capital to be awarded the title of martial arts champion. Therefore, he could not help but feel awe in his heart and stood up to salute, “I, a humble citizen, pay my respects to the empress dowager.”

No matter how high their status in the martial arts world is, the position of the lord of the country is not for them, the martial arts people… Yangshe Congyun is away, and performing this great ceremony is also giving face to the court. Otherwise, if they are labeled as rebels, the Nine Clans will not be able to escape, but the three clans plus all the disciples of Qing Liantian will definitely not be able to escape.

It’s true that there are things going on in the underworld, but this guy is from the royal family of Dali, and he’d be a fool to talk to you about the rules of the underworld.

Thousands of martial arts people present also reacted and saluted.

The Queen Mother has always been low-key. She has never left the palace in the ten years she has lived in it. People in the world have no idea what kind of character she has. If she is a small-minded person… then the Queen Mother will definitely not remember who salutes her, but she can probably remember who doesn’t salute her.

“Stand up.” The Queen Mother gently raised her other hand on her leg, opened her red lips, and spoke in an indifferent but majestic voice.

The voice was ethereal but mature, and hearing it made many people feel a little warmed up. They raised their eyes and looked towards Bunian quietly with envy in their eyes.

But they would never have thought that this noble queen mother, who even the emperor had to bow to, had used that hand to hold a man’s last night…

The Queen Mother glanced through the red curtain at Yangshe Congyun on the stage and said calmly, “In the battle of Longquan, Weiming Hou was seriously injured, but a gentleman keeps his word. He promised to come here in February to fight with Dao Kui. He will not break his promise. Just wait for a while. After he recovers from his injuries, he will come here to fight.”

The Queen Mother also knows martial arts, and at this moment she is using her inner strength. Her indifferent voice spreads throughout the surroundings, making the sound somewhat noisy.

Was Zhao Wumian injured in the battle of Longquan? Did Yangshe Yin have the qualifications to hurt him? Did he escape death from Xiao Yuanmu? But didn’t Zhao Wumian admit that he had a close relationship with Xiao Yuanmu?

The surrounding Jianghu people were confused for a moment, but since the Queen Mother had rushed from the capital to Shu for Wei Minghou, it proved that the court definitely did not care about the relationship between Zhao Wumian and Xiao Yuanmu…

While pondering, Yangshe Congyun frowned slightly, without any doubt in his heart, and bowed slightly, “If Weiming Hou’s injury has not healed, it is better to make another appointment, otherwise it will seem that I won unfairly…”

Unfair victory? Do you think you’ve won before the fight even starts?
The Queen Mother’s eyes turned colder, “I can wait, but you can’t?”

Yangshe Congyun quickly saluted and said, “I dare not.”

The Queen Mother’s words finalized the situation… If she can wait, who among you can’t? No matter how anxious you are, you have to wait. As for making another appointment… Who dares to let the Queen Mother make a wasted trip?

Although the Queen Mother loves to play, she has never held Zhao Wumian back when it comes to serious matters… What a good woman.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sedan chair, escorted by the elite soldiers of the King of Shu, came to a high platform with an excellent vantage point for watching the battle. This place was originally reserved for people from the imperial court. The King of Yan and the little girl Luo Xiangzhu also sat here.

With the arrival of the Queen Mother, there was no more noise around the huge platform. Everyone was silent, fearing that any more words would displease the Queen Mother, anger the court, and bring about a fatal disaster. After stabilizing the situation, the Queen Mother looked towards the back mountain of Qingcheng. A hint of worry gradually emerged from her indifferent expression. Then she was silent for a few seconds, raised her little hand to the tip of her nose, and a little strangeness appeared in her eyes again.

On the other hand, before the Queen Mother arrived at Qingcheng Mountain, Zhao Wumian, Luo Xiangzhu and Xiao Yuanmu had already blended in with the surrounding spectators, and then took advantage of the flow of people to quietly move towards the back mountain.

Most of Qingliantian’s disciples were near the arena. Even though the defenses in the back mountain were strict, there were basically only people from the Jiuli Fan family. With Zhao Wumian and Xiao Yuanmu’s strength, it would not be difficult for them to sneak in even if they brought Luo Xiangzhu with them.

The three of them were all dressed like ordinary people in the martial arts world, wearing straw raincoats and hats. However, Xiao Yuanmu was too short now, and when she walked next to Zhao Wumian and Luo Xiangzhu, anyone would think she was their daughter.

crunch————

The size of Qingcheng Mountain is second only to that of Emei Mountain. It has many peaks, but most of the places are actually uninhabited. The endless green forests spread over the mountains, and the terrain rises and falls, with basins and mountain peaks.

The ground was covered with thick fallen leaves. They were soft when stepped on, and the moisture inside was squeezed out, making a slight hissing sound.

Luo Xiangzhu stopped right where she was, looking at Zhao Wumian with a little uneasiness… With Zhao Wumian and Xiao Yuanmu’s lightness skills, they made no sound when walking, but it was different for her. The forest was extremely quiet at the moment, and her footsteps suddenly became extremely conspicuous.

This task was rather difficult, so Xue Xiao also came to help. He had already flown high into the sky, but he did not fly far to look for Wu Honghua. Instead, he stayed around Zhao Wumian, looking around with his sharp eyes, alert to his surroundings.

Since Mr. Qin Sanye and Fan Shunan wanted to lure him into a trap, they must have something to rely on. With Zhao Wumian’s current strength, ordinary masters are simply not able to help him. It can only be a master at the martial arts leader level, but he doesn’t know who it is.

However, if Zhao Wumian is ambushed by a martial arts master, he will be defeated no matter how strong he is… He should be on guard against ambushes.

With Wu Kui’s five senses, he could basically hear her footsteps within several miles.

Zhao Wumian half squatted down and gestured for him to carry her on his back.

Luo Xiangzhu and Zhao Wumian seldom had physical contact, so her little face under her bamboo hat couldn’t help but blush, but she also knew the principle of not being too particular about trivial matters when traveling in the world, so she lay on Zhao Wumian’s back a little stiffly, supporting her shoulders with her little hands, and not letting her little body touch his back.

Zhao Wumian held up Luo Xiangzhu’s thighs with both hands. Although they felt soft and tender, he didn’t pay attention to these details at the moment. He concentrated on practicing light skills, as if floating on the ground. There was no sound when moving… Different light skills have different emphases. This kind of light skill that seemed to be flying in the air belonged to the sword sect’s Lingxiao Feidu.

Zhao Wumian knew that Luo Xiangzhu was nervous, so he tilted his hat slightly and asked in secret, “Did you sense anything?”

Luo Xiangzhu shook his head slightly.

The Zhan Yan hairpin was most likely carried by Yangshe Congyun, but Luo Xiangzhu had just concentrated on sensing it and felt nothing, so it could only be hidden somewhere by Yangshe Congyun… He must have been worried that the existence of the Zhan Yan hairpin would be accidentally exposed during the fight with Zhao Wumian.

If this is the case, Luo Xiangzhu can only search slowly.

Zhao Wumian withdrew his gaze, but saw Xiao Yuanmu suddenly paused and his eyes indicated to Zhao Wumian that there was something in front of him.

When Zhao Wumian used the sword technique, he realized that the forest in front of him was covered with translucent thin lines. They were impenetrable yet interconnected. It must be a trap that could affect the entire body if triggered by a single move.

“Formation…” Xiao Yuanmu raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at the seemingly ordinary dense forest in front of him, and then shook his head, “It’s not difficult to force through, but it will definitely be exposed. If you want to dismantle it one by one, I don’t know how much time it will take… Let’s take a detour.”

No matter how high their martial arts skills are, they cannot turn themselves into the wind and float over. All they see in front of them are translucent silver threads. With their skills, it is not impossible for them to dodge and pass through the gaps, but they are now carrying Luo Xiangzhu with them… At the moment, not being able to make a sound is already the limit. If they want to slip through without triggering the trap, Zhao Wumian can’t think of a way except to become invisible.

When Xiao Yuanmu and Zhao Wumian sneaked in, these things were not available.

As for walking on the treetops above the forest, it was purely because they were afraid that no one would see them.

Zhao Wumian was silent for a while, then he transmitted his voice in secret: “This back mountain must be where the Dancing Red Flower is. The back mountain of Qingcheng is so vast. If we really want to set up traps in every inch of the mountain, I wonder how much manpower and material resources it will take.”

Xiao Yuanmu nodded slightly and looked towards the steep ridge. His meaning was very clear… Taking the ordinary road is not only slow, but also easy to trigger traps. It is better to walk along the ridge. Only people with superb lightness skills can walk there as if it were flat ground, and the possibility of traps is also smaller.

Zhao Wumian nodded, and the two immediately changed direction and headed towards the ridge.

Luo Xiangzhu lay obediently behind Zhao Wumian, not saying a word, letting the two of them decide, not caring which way they took…but she soon realized something was wrong.

It is true that Zhao Wumian is highly skilled in martial arts, but he cannot fly. He walks along the steep ridge, stepping lightly on the branches with his toes, and leaps more than ten feet. While leaning on the branches for leverage, inertia pushes Luo Xiangzhu’s delicate body forward… She does not know martial arts, and cannot withstand this inertia.

Originally, she was still a short distance away from Zhao Wumian’s back, but every time she used the force, she couldn’t control herself and dribbled into him.

The bulging collar immediately pressed against Zhao Wumian’s back, and then squeezed out an arc that was extremely oppressive.

When Zhao Wumian used all his strength to move forward, he couldn’t help but lean back, so his collar fluttered back and forth with great elasticity…

Luo Xiangzhu had never experienced such a scene since she was a child. Her brain went blank for a moment, and then her pretty face turned blood red. Her heart almost jumped out of her throat.

Zhao Wumian could feel the extremely soft warmth on his back. The wonderful touch reached his heart without reservation. He was a little frightened. The princess usually kept a low profile, but now it seemed…

As soon as the thought flashed through my mind, I realized that the person behind me had changed from dribbling the ball to pressing the person.

Luo Xiangzhu no longer considered the difference between men and women. She wrapped her arms around Zhao Wumian’s neck, her pretty face flushed red as blood, and she clung to him without moving.

This is better than bumping into Zhao Wumian all the time.

Zhao Wumian opened his mouth and wanted to say, “Why don’t we change the position? I’ll hold you and you don’t have to worry about these things.”

But it was obviously inappropriate to change the posture specifically for such a thing and hold both of his hands, so he remained silent.

It was just that Luo Xiangzhu was wearing a spring dress, which was a little thin to begin with. Now that it was so tightly attached to her, Zhao Wumian could even feel the process of Luo Xiangzhu’s transformation from “ordinary” to “standing tall” with his five senses…

Princess Xiangzhu is completely different from her master, not the type to be shy…but she is the same type as Miss Su.

sensitive.

They walked straight along the mountain ridge towards the tomb of the Crown Prince of Chen State. After running for who knows how many miles, the Snow Owl that had been flying above them had already seen through the dense snow and forests, and saw the dots of red in the valley… the dancing red flowers!

Snow Owl was not stupid and knew immediately that this was what Zhao Wumian had been looking for. However, there could be no one guarding the area near the Wuhong Flower Field. Snow Owl was flying high in the sky and could see many strangers hiding in the mountains and forests… and in front of the Wuhong Flower Field, there was a bamboo forest.

Countless bamboo leaves mixed into the rain curtain and fell with the wind like rain and tide.

Inside the bamboo forest, a man was sitting at a stone table, drinking silently, carrying a disassembled iron spear wrapped in black cloth on his back. He had a beard on his chin and looked to be about forty or fifty years old.

Apart from this man, there was no one else in the bamboo forest. Xue Xiao glanced at him with a slightly puzzled look, and was a little confused in his heart… Why was he the only one here?

But at this moment, the man, after drinking, suddenly raised his eyes, and looked through the tall green bamboo and the rain curtain at the snow owl flying in the sky.

Even a martial arts master, as long as there is no obstruction, can be seen by the Snow Owl. However, a martial arts master is very sensitive to the sight of others. If it is just the sight of ordinary flying insects and beasts, he will naturally not care. But the Snow Owl is intelligent after all, and it is obviously not the same species as ordinary beasts…

Xue Xiao was stunned for a moment, but when he looked again, he saw that there was no one beside the stone table. There were only a few jars of wine and the flying bamboo leaves that were swept up into the sky by the strong wind…

Wipe————

A sharp sword sound suddenly rang out. To deal with a bird, Fan Wucheng would certainly not unsheath his spear, so he suddenly drew out the two-foot short sword at his waist. In just a moment, his figure rose from the ground, and bamboo leaves piled on the ground, but only the bamboo leaves near the stone table were suddenly blown away, revealing the floor tiles.

The Snow Owl was immediately startled. It could not see any details of Fan Wucheng’s sword attack at all. It could only see a flash of cold light appear in front of it in the blink of an eye, and there was no way to avoid it.

But it’s not without protection.

Zhao Wumian noticed that Xue Xiao was being targeted, so he immediately grabbed Luo Xiangzhu’s arm with one hand and threw her to Xiao Yuanmu. He put his other hand on the hilt of the knife behind his waist, stomped his boots hard, and soared into the sky, leaving a small vortex of fallen leaves and rain behind him.

Choke————

A bright blade light shot up into the sky like fireworks, instantly shooting up from bottom to top towards the cold light.

clang!
Zhao Wumian chopped the two-foot dagger with his sword, knowing that the newcomer was not ordinary, and immediately mobilized the Heavenly Demon Blood Release. However, Fan Wucheng obviously did not notice Zhao Wumian’s existence before, and just thought that he was killing a stupid bird suspected to be a spy. Therefore, when the brutal energy was transmitted to his body through the dagger, Fan Wucheng immediately flew backwards and smashed into the bamboo forest.

The Snow Owl was frightened and flapped its wings continuously, with feathers flying everywhere. When it saw that Zhao Wumian had saved its life, a trace of relief and emotion for having escaped a disaster emerged in its eyes in a very human way.

Zhao Wumian was slightly shocked. With his current physique, if it was an ordinary master, the dagger would have cut the person in half. But now he just chopped him away… It must be that martial arts master!
Thinking of this, Zhao Wumian felt a little cold in his heart. He did not give Fan Wucheng time to catch his breath. His toes lightly touched the feathers that fell from the frightened Snow Owl, then he pushed his sword forward and slashed, following Fan Wucheng closely.

After the initial surprise, Fan Wucheng’s expression had returned to calm, and he even looked a little surprised.

The prey that was lured into the trap has finally arrived…

(End of this chapter)